FairTest Reaction to Class of 2017 SAT Results

embargoed for use with 2017 College Board SAT scores after 6:00am Tuesday, September 26, 2017

2017 SAT SCORES “CAN’T BE COMPARED TO PREVIOUS RESULTS” BECAUSE

“REDESIGNED” EXAM IS “MARKETING PLOY DESIGNED TO SELL MORE TESTS”;

LAUNCH FAILS TO SLOW SURGE OF SCHOOLS BECOMING TEST-OPTIONAL;

980+ COLLEGES, UNIVERSITIES NOW DO NOT REQUIRE SAT OR ACT SCORES

The College Board, the SAT’s sponsor, warns that scores released this week “can’t be compared to previous results.” That is because the revised exam is “a marketing ploy designed to sell more tests, not a better tool for tracking college readiness,” according to Bob Schaeffer, Public Education Director of the National Center for Fair & Open Testing (FairTest).

“The College Board is a test-selling company,” Schaeffer explained. “Based on its public tax returns, the Board takes in more than $900 million each year. It holds assets topping one billion dollars. The firm’s president receives nearly $900,000 in annual compensation.”

“The SAT redesign aimed to reposition the Board’s flagging, flagship product,” Schaeffer continued. “It hoped to stave off further growth of the rival ACT, which has become the nation’s most popular college entrance exam. Most importantly, it tried to stem the rapidly growing movement toward test-optional admissions policies.”

Schaeffer concluded, “Since plans for the revised test were announced, more than 100 colleges and universities dropped SAT and ACT requirements. That’s a pace of one every two weeks. Schools increasingly recognize they do not need the SAT – old or new – to make high quality admissions decisions.”

More than 980 accredited, bachelor-degree institutions now will evaluate all or many applicants without regard to test scores. The list of test-optional schools includes almost 300 ranked in the top tiers of their categories by U.S. News & World Report.